.357 mag cases ... hard to prime ??!

[Lead Waster]

I was loading up a mere 100 rounds of .357 (with wimpy .38 spc loads) in my 550b and actually CRUSHED two primers (the yellow compound was all over the place) and some others were a bit smooshed. This 20 year old press has loaded tens of thousands of rounds of 9mm and .45. I'm using the Dillon casefeeder which is awesome when it works and a PITA when it jams up, but from what I can tell it is leaving the case where it needs to be to be primed.

Do .357 mag cases have tight or crimped primer pockets?
I wasted so many primers that I went ahead and deprimed all the cases I had, with the intention of running my handheld RCBS primer pocker reamer on all of them. This doesn't sound reasonable though ... but is it for .357 mag?

Thanks

[Sheldon]

What brand brass? Some brands tighter than others.....S&B for instance. Havent seen any crimped .357 Mag , but have seen 38 Spl with crimped pockets, but something to keep an eye out for.

[hermosabeach]

I have reloaded some military .38 brass and the primers had a roll crimp

What is the headstamp? Commercial or military?

[Exdc]

.357 mag cases ... hard to prime ??!

RCBS makes a primer pocket swaging tool. Recommend to uncrimp or resize tight pockets.

RCBS 9481 Primer Pocket Swager Combo-2 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0063IDAX2..._l3uQBbVQR6HT9

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Lead Waster]

Most were "Herters" brand, I bought the used cases from a friend who decided not to reload. Be bought them at the range off the shelf.

I do have the RCBS pocket swager on my rock chucker, I find it annoying to use for long cases like .357, but I may suck it up and use it instead of the handheld reamer.
It's not the easiest thing to use and requires quite some force to knock cases loose, in fact I have to sort of slam the handle forward to know the cases off. I might get the Dillon super swage 600, as I have rifle cases that will eventually require pocket swaging.

[pennstater]

Interesting to read this. As I am venturing into handloading for the .357[rifle], I'm wondering if "American Eagle" cases are fine or in need of reaming.

[hermosabeach]

Oh

Don't forget eye pro

Popping a primer in the press is loud and dangerous to the eyeballs and ear balls

[Dutch Henry]

I've reloaded many thousands of .357 cases and have had some snug primer pockets. You might want to invest in a couple of primer pocket gauges. Ballistic Tools sells a small and large "Swage Gage" for $12 each. I have both and they work well. Should solve your problem now and in the future.

https://ballistictools.com/store/swage-gage-small-primer-pocket

[Bigtwin]

I know I'm not much help here, but I've loaded up a bunch of 357 Magnum cases from many different manufacturers, and never had one so tight that it crushed a primer.

[rm1911]

I know I'm not much help here, but I've loaded up a bunch of 357 Magnum cases from many different manufacturers, and never had one so tight that it crushed a primer.

[ojisan]

^ What he said.
Also check for any build of debris or gunk in the primer feed cross bar and spring loaded primer ram cup.
This area gets a lot of stuff dumped on it when a case is deprimed... powder ash, gunk and primer "dust".

ETA: A crunched primer could be caused by a bad case or two as well.
Sometimes you will get a batch of cases that are all off slightly in one dimension or another.
Check how hard it is to prime one of those Herter's cases compared to other main brand names (Winchester, Federal, Star Line) to give you a guideline.

[Cheep]

What brand of primers? Try a different brand and see if it works differently.

[Batman]

When you deprime one of the cases, take your calipers and measure the spent primer. Then check the dimensions of a new primer.

[LuckyGuy]

Alignment

Check the shell plate and make sure it is the right one.

[tonyjr]

I had so many problems with primers [ Lee loadmaster ] that I / We
deprime and prime by hand .
This was many years ago and I was buying the cheapest primers I
could find .
Now I only use CCI primers - semi easy to find .
No more odd sizes , thin , bend , crushed or seating depth problems .
I have found a few 32 acp 357 , 41 and 45 ACP cases that took a little
more hand pressure to decrimp .
Those get the pocket reamer and flash hole checked / reamed .
Find a brand you like and stick with it . When I / we get down to 500 primers , we pick up 2-3000 more .
Another thing - you don't say how you clean brass - corn and nut work O K .
The pins can peen primer holes if case to pins is to small or tumbler is
less than 1/2 full . Pins fall farther .